Knowledge is Power
by Moon's Tear
Summary: Knowledge is power, so when Libby has another one of her cyberchondric episodes, Hank thinks it's time to arm her with a little bit of information to help her win her battle with her condition.


Hank was sitting back on the couch, amazed that he had managed to find some free time during the busy season. Since he and Evan had hired Libby on as an administrative assistant for the summer, Hank had fewer dictations to transcribe as she'd taken over the duty for him and as such he found himself at a loss for what to do.

Flicking through the channels, Hank couldn't settle on anything to watch and so he turned the TV off. Standing up, he was just about to make his way toward the kitchen when he heard Libby shout his name from the next room. He'd come to expect her occasional fits of panic after working with her for a bit and so he simply paused, waiting for her to come to him rather than chasing off to find her.

Seconds later, Libby ran into the room, eyes wide as saucers and looking extremely anxious. Hank held out his hands to stop her as she rushed towards him, nearly bowling her over in his panic.

"Libby, calm down," Hank said softly. "What's wrong?"

Guiding her over to the couch he'd just vacated, Hank could feel the tension thrumming through her body. She'd undoubtedly gotten into one of his medical journals or textbooks again and had found yet another constellation of symptoms that seemed to match her to a T, inspiring a bout of cyberchondric panic.

"My heart," she said frantically. "I think I'm having an episode of atrial fibrillation. It just started beating really fast and my pulse feels irregular!"

Hank took in Libby's appearance as he took a seat beside her. She looked completely fine aside from the panicked expression and even without examining her he felt certain that she was in absolutely no danger, but he'd learned over time that it was easiest just to play along with her until she calmed herself down a bit.

"When did it start?" Hank asked.

Reaching out, he grasped Libby's wrist, his fingertips coming to rest over her radial pulse point. He watched her silently, counting the beats in his head as she spoke.

"I had palpitations a few minutes ago, and so I looked up some of the causes," Libby explained worriedly. "I did a search of a combination of symptoms and I was linked to a web page on atrial fibrillation, which said that it was a fast, irregular type of heart rhythm that could cause blood clots, heart attacks and strokes. When I checked my pulse to see if it matched up with the description, it matched exactly. Am I going to die, Hank?"

"Relax, Libby," Hank reassured her, letting go of her wrist. "You're going to be fine. Your heart is beating a little bit quickly, but I'm pretty sure it's just because of the stress. And the reason your heartbeat is irregular is because you have something called a sinus arrhythmia."

"Arrhythmia?" Libby exclaimed. "That sounds bad. Is that bad?"

"No, it's perfectly normal," Hank promised. "It just means that your heart rate changes a little bit with your breathing. When you take a deep breath in, it speeds up, and when you breathe out, it slows down. Here, I want to show you something."

Libby, though still wide-eyed, seemed somewhat more at ease after hearing his explanation and Hank could tell he'd piqued her curiosity, too. He left her seated on the couch for a moment, moving to the next room to retrieve his medical bag. Bringing it back to the couch, Hank set it down and took a seat once more, reaching into it and pulling out his stethoscope.

He could feel Libby's curious gaze on him as he slipped the stethoscope on and reached out for her. Resting one hand on her shoulder, he pressed the disc of the stethoscope to her chest with the other, listening to her heart. He moved the disc around to a few different spots, finally pausing when he found the most optimal location.

"Here, hold this," Hank instructed.

Reaching out, he took Libby's right hand and placed it over his where he held the disc to her chest, waiting for her to take a good grip on it. Once she had, Hank reached up and pulled the stethoscope's earpieces from his ears, instead slipping them into Libby's to let her listen.

"Now, I want you to take a deep breath in and out nice and slowly," Hank instructed. "Listen to the rate and rhythm of your heartbeat as you do."

He watched Libby as she did what he'd asked, breathing purposefully as she listened to her heart. He could see that she was completely fascinated and he wondered why he'd never considered an educational approach to her cyberchondria before. It certainly seemed to be working miracles on her.

In the meanwhile, Libby listened intently through the stethoscope, seemingly completely enthralled by the sound of her heartbeat. She held still for a long minute, paying close attention to what she was doing, before slipping the stethoscope off at last and meeting Hank's gaze.

"So that's totally normal?" She asked.

Hank nodded with a smile.

"A respiratory sinus arrhythmia like the one you have is extremely common; probably even more common than a perfectly normal sinus rhythm," Hank explained. "It happens in healthy, young people just like you. The latest school of thought on it is that it actually increases the amount of oxygen in the bloodstream and improves oxygenation of the cells throughout the body. I've got a sinus arrhythmia, too, just like yours. Here, take a listen."

He gestured for Libby to put the stethoscope back on. Once she had the ear tips in and adjusted properly, Hank reached forward and picked up the diaphragm. Applying the disc to a spot on his chest, Hank waited for Libby to acknowledge that she could hear his heartbeat before taking several slow, deep breaths. He could feel the fluctuations in his heart rate as he did so and he could tell that Libby could hear them by how fascinated she looked.

Hank could feel the fluctuations in his heart rate as he breathed deeply, keeping an eye on Libby as she listened. She kept the disc in one spot for a few moments before picking it back up again and resting it in another place, pausing to listen there. This pattern continued for a few minutes until Libby's curiosity was finally satisfied and she slipped off the stethoscope, holding it out to Hank to take back.

"Okay, that's really cool," Libby said excitedly. "I had no idea that something like that was normal."

"The body can do some pretty cool stuff," Hank replied, taking the stethoscope from her. "So if you ever have a concern, just stay calm and come see me. I'll explain everything to you. The more you learn, the less frightened you'll be."

"Thanks, Hank," Libby said gratefully. "I'll definitely take you up on that, and I promise I'll try not to freak out so much."

"Sounds great," he said with a smile. "How much more work do you have to do today?"

"Oh, I'm almost done," Libby answered. "I just have to file a few charts."

"Well, why don't you finish those up and come back here when you're done," Hank suggested. "We can get a jump start on your education by teaching you how to take a set of vital signs."

Libby's eyes lit up with excitement and she clapped her hands together, nearly jumping out of her seat at his suggestion.

"Really?" She asked. "That would be so cool! Thank you! I'll be back in a flash!"

Hank chuckled and watched as Libby practically bolted from the room, clearly ecstatic about the learning opportunity he'd offered her.

Standing from his spot on the couch, Hank moved off to find everything they would need for their lesson, all the while wondering why he hadn't thought to educate Libby before. He couldn't help but laugh as it occurred to him that the old adage was true – knowledge really was power.


End file.
